Taking The Game Out Of Gamification

Abstract

Gamification purports to take elements from video games such as points, badges, levels, etc. and use them to motivate people to perform tasks outside of traditional video games.  This paper challenges these claims by arguing that the core of video games is actually content, not game mechanics.  It illustrates how game mechanics are not exclusive to video games and are used only to enhance the content naturally found in games.  It further explores how gamification uses mechanics to limit the amount of content provided to players while at the same time gathering valuable personal information from players.